Chapter 21: Crispy
"Something's burning..." my father's voice trailed as he entered the house with a bag of potatoes. The smoke detectors immediately sounded as the words left his mouth.
"The turkey! Grace, the turkey!" my mother shouted from the top of the stairs. Following her panicked yells was the sound of her scrambling to come down the steps with heels on. I heard a loud thud and unlike Avery, who simply glanced at the bottom of the stairs and snorted, I jogged over, followed by my father. I saw my mom at the bottom of the steps looking a bit dazed and I helped her up. "Did you get the turkey?" she asked me and I shook my head as I pulled her from her spot on the ground. Halfway up, she began slapping my arm. "Go get it!"
I slipped past my father and approached the oven. I grabbed the mitts and lifted the heavy, burned bird from the confines of the cooker. Placing it down, I removed the cloth hands, examining the burnt skin that layered the bird. My mother came in seconds later and sighed, placing her head in her hands.
"Ooh, burn," my dad grinned as he entered the kitchen, placing the potatoes on the counter.
"This isn't the time for your jokes!" my mom snapped. The doorbell rang and Avery sighed.
"I got it," she announced and I imagined her slowly getting up from her spot on the couch. The sound of the door opening greeted my ears and I looked at my mom. "It's the Carson family!"
I felt a knot form in my stomach. Phoenix is here. Mrs. Carson walked in and her eyes immediately fell on the turkey and a small smile formed on her lips. My mom sighed. "I know, I know, I burned the turkey to a crisp."
Each of the guests from next door entered the room with a food item in their hands. Piper held two pumpkin pies and Brooke held two apple pies. Phoenix, who was wearing a cute dress shirt and slacks, had a large pot with green bean casserole in it. Alex had two bread pans, one with corn bread and the other with banana bread. Paige had a tray of cookies, which I'm hoping are chocolate chip. And here we are, pegged with the task of making the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob, and we've failed. The corn still has a chance though; it's sitting in its pot on the stove. We haven't even started the mashed potatoes, though. And we all see the devastation the turkey has posed upon us. Glancing at the clock and reading that it was half past five, I determined that we wouldn't be eating until seven, if at all.
"It's okay. Who needs turkey anyway?" Mrs. Carson asked curiously, watching as her kids placed the home cooked items on the counter. My mom cringed each time they were set down and I had a feeling that each food item reminded her of her failures.
My sister, decked in the dress our mom made her wear, entered the kitchen and sighed. "Why don't we just buy a premade turkey?" she inquired. "I mean, I'm not going to get it, but someone can."
"We might as well," my mom announced as she looked around. "Who's driving?"
"I'll go," Phoenix piped and I looked up, meeting his gaze. Does he want me to go to? I widened my eyes slightly as if silently asking and he almost invisibly bobbed his head up and down. I began slipping past people, trying to be inconspicuous. Outside, I thought, I need to get outside.
As I was slipping past Alex and Paige, the two girls chuckled and rolled their eyes. "Have fun on your supermarket date," Paige piped quietly and I shot them both a look. Ever since their arrival yesterday, they've been making comments a bit too loudly and I'm scared everyone's going to find out about me and Phoenix by the end of this meal.
I managed to make it out of the kitchen and to the yard right before Phoenix burst out of the house with a handful of bills, which I'm guessing came from my mother's wallet. She doesn't always put the bills in neatly. We quickly jogged towards his car with secretive smiles on our faces. As I got into the passenger's seat, I adjusted my dress and Phoenix smiled. "You like pretty," he smiled at me and I offered him a large grin.
"So do you," I told him with a nod.
"I get that a lot, you know, that I look pretty," he responded and I shoved his shoulder.
"Hopefully we get back before Leo gets out of bed," I told Phoenix, who was bringing us to the local supermarket.
"When I was leaving, they sent Avery to wake him up," Phoenix responded. "So I doubt that's going to be a thing."
"Well, let's just hope that the supermarket isn't out of turkeys," I retorted.
+ + +
"We're all out, sorry guys," a worker standing at the empty rotisseries told us as he was shutting them off. I looked at Phoenix, who was staring at the ceiling with a hand on his forehead.
"Call your mom and tell her we're going to be a bit longer," he informed me as we jogged towards the car. I grabbed my phone from its spot on the seat and dialed my mom's number.
"Was it enough?" she asked urgently and I bit my lip. "I swear fifty seemed like a good amount."
"Actually...they ran out," I told her.
"Go to another place then!" my mom snapped. "Just get us a turkey!"
"Okay, okay," I told her. "We're going, we're going."
"Wait, you went with him?" she asked.
"Yeah," I told her as if it was obvious.
"I really need to keep track of my children..." she muttered. "Avery? Leo?"
The phone hung up and I stared at it before dropping the device on my lap. "What'd she say?" he inquired and I rolled my eyes.
"She told us to go somewhere else and not to come home until we have a turkey," I informed Phoenix.
"Okay, we've got this," he announced as he drove in the direction of the next place that might have a turkey. I felt his gaze on me as I stared out the window. He glanced at my wrist and smiled. "You're wearing it."
"Yeah, I mean, what else would I do with it? Sacrifice it?" I asked him as I fiddled with it, twisting and twirling it around my wrist.
He shrugged as he turned the corner. "I don't know. I just didn't think you'd wear it, at least not today."
"Why not?" I inquired.
"What if someone asks where you got it?" he questioned and I stared at the dashboard.
"I'll just say it was a birthday gift," I replied and he nodded before looking out the front window. I sighed and sat in silence.
When we arrived at the last supermarket within twenty miles of my house, I led the way to where the turkey may be. My eyes widened in delight when I saw a turkey sitting on the rotisserie. I began lightly slapping Phoenix, who was also smiling. We looked at the turkey and I furrowed my eyebrows. "Is this big enough for eleven people?" I inquired and he stared at it. It was a lot smaller than one my mom had burned, and it was the last one available.
"Well, you've got to think about it this way. Piper and Brooke combined will eat the same amount as one person. And Alex is a vegetarian, so she won't be having any. Paige eats like a bird and will only eat a small amount, if that. So maybe, but I'd rather have a small amount of turkey than no turkey at all," he informed me before waving at an employee.
He held the turkey as we walked back to the car. Placing the box in the backseat, he reached his hand up for a high five. I grinned, reaching up and slapping hands with him but slowly closed my hand around his. He followed suit with a smirk similar to mine on his face. His eyebrows shot up as I stepped closer, feeling his hand slip around my waist. He began leaning down and just as I went to place my hands around his neck, my phone began to ring. He chuckled quietly as I pulled away, answering with an annoyed look on my face.
"Did you get the turkey?!" my mom practically yelled into the phone.
"Yes, mom, we got the turkey," I told her, staring at Phoenix as he walked towards the driver's side of the car. I got into the passenger's seat and listened as my mom thanked every form of higher power before hanging up. I looked at Phoenix who smiled and leaned over, kissing my forehead.
+ + +
Everyone was in the living room waiting for our arrival. I made eye contact with Leo as I held open the door for Phoenix, who entered with the turkey. Everyone got up and followed him to the kitchen, grumbling about being hungry. My brother, however, approached me. "Why'd you go with him?" he nosily inquired.
I showed him the money in my hand. "To pay, you idiot." Knowing that if I give him a second more to think, he'll come to the conclusion that our mother trusts Phoenix enough with her money and that there was no reason for me to be there. Brushing past him I entered the dining room and boldly took a seat beside Phoenix. I got a look from Alex and Paige but no one else said much. When my brother entered the room, he took the seat on the other side of Phoenix.
The table consisted of several different conversations. The two youngest girls talked amongst themselves while I found myself in a conversation with Alex and Paige. The boys spoke about their next football game and the adults talked about whatever it is adults talk about. It wasn't until Alex decided to drag the guys into our conversation that things got tense and awkward.
"Hey, you two," Alex announced from her spot across from us. I closed my eyes and swore under my breath. She was just talking about her last relationship. This can't be good. She's going to say something about me and Phoenix. I can just tell.
"What?" Phoenix asked as he sat back. Alex narrowed her eyes at my brother, who had a piece of turkey hanging limply from his mouth.
"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked him curiously, causing my eyebrows to shoot up. Phoenix looked a bit confused, too.
"No..." he trailed. Whatever happened to Sasha? "Why?" he asked, sounding a bit too eager. Phoenix noticed this and glanced at Leo, who shot a look towards Phoenix, who now had his arms crossed.
"Just wondering," she trailed with a short giggle. The brunette twirled a piece of her hair between her finger and Phoenix looked disgusted. Had it not been for my quick thinking, I probably would've worn the same expression on my face.
"What are you doing?" her brother asked, staring at her.
"What do you mean?" she inquired.
"Why are you flirting with my friend?" he asked and I tried to inconspicuously elbow him in the side. He glanced at me and I whispered 'be cool' under my breath. Maybe if Phoenix reacts like it's okay, Leo will reassess his attitude towards us.
"Who said I was flirting with him?" Alex replied.
"Because, you know, if you were, I can give you his number," Phoenix said in a choked voice. The tables were turned and it was Alex's turn to look confused.
"Okay, I just might have to take you up on that offer," she replied. She turned to my brother and narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you legal?"
"No," my brother trailed awkwardly. "Not for another year."
"Well, we'll see about it then," the nineteen year old responded. My brother looked at Phoenix to see how he should reply.
"Okay," my brother replied nervously before turning his attention back to his food. I was embarrassed for him. I'm not sure if Alex really meant that or if she was just teasing, but either way, it must've been uncomfortable.
Phoenix was glaring at his sister and I kicked him under the table, gaining his attention. "Talk to him," I muttered quietly and Phoenix sighed before turning to my brother.
"So like I was saying before..." he started and I tuned out of the conversation.
I made eye contact with Alex and she winked at me.
+ + +
The day following Thanksgiving, after I helped my dad clean the house, I was invited to hang out with Alex and Paige. I eagerly went over, hoping that Phoenix was there. I know, I know, I should be excited to spend time with the two girls because I haven't seen them in a while and they're very fun people to spend time with. It's just that I never really get to see Phoenix because Leo's made it his job to occupy all of his best friend's time. Literally. He hangs out with Phoenix so much that Phoenix only has time to do his homework when Leo's at work, ruling out the only time I can spend with him without having to sneak around.
I walked to the house beside mine and slipped inside. Immediately, upon my entrance, I heard arguing. "Give me the remote!" Phoenix grunted.
"No, we're watching this," Alex retorted.
"Shut up, I can't hear!" Paige snapped.
"Get your foot out of my face!" Alex groaned. "I'm going to bite your foot!" I heard a bit of shuffling and a loud whimper.
"You bit my toe!" Phoenix announced. "Why would you bite my toe?"
"I told you I would!" Alex retorted. "Why don't you go do something with your face? Your girlfriend's supposed to be coming over."
"Grace? When?" he asked and I heard shuffling.
I slowly peeked in the living room. I saw Phoenix struggling to get up from the floor. His hair was messy and he didn't have a shirt on. We made eye contact and I immediately averted my gaze. "Hi guys..." I muttered.
"Hey, Grace," Phoenix announced, gaining my attention.
"Hey," I responded, training my eyes on his face. Don't look down. Don't look down.
"Go put on some clothes, you creep," Paige insisted.
He looked down at himself before nodding. "I'll be right back," he blurted before turning to walk away. I stared at his back as he went. He suddenly turned around and I realized that I was now staring at his chest. I mean, it wasn't a bad chest. Not bad at all. I looked up at him to see a smirk lining his lips.
"What?" I asked him and he shook his head as the corners of his lips perked upward. "I'm going to sit down now." I approached the couch and dropped, putting my face in my hands as it heated up.
A few moments later, Phoenix appeared in the living room, dropping on the couch beside me. He smiled and I returned it, baring my teeth at him and closing my eyes. He turned his attention towards the television and I continued to stare at him. He has very healthy skin and beautiful eyes. I don't know if I told him that. Do I ever really compliment him? I should start doing it more. He should know that he's good looking. But I'll balance it out with joking insults so his ego won't get to be too big. Yeah, that's what I'll do. "I don't know how I haven't noticed this before," he suddenly blurted.
"What?" I replied.
"You stare at me, so hard," he announced and I felt my face redden.
"What? No, I don't," I lied. He's onto me.
"Yes, you do," he retorted. "You were staring at me so hard that I felt it. You know how hard you have to be staring at someone for them to feel it?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," I retorted as I turned my attention towards the television. Phoenix shook his head before tuning into the movie.
About twenty minutes later, I felt Phoenix's gaze on me and I whipped around to look at him. Raising my finger, I pointed at him. "You're doing it!"
"Doing what?" he asked curiously as he stared at my finger, which was a few inches from his face.
"You're staring at me so hard that I feel it," I retorted. He had a grin on his face and I stared in confusion. I expected him to turn red and look away but when has Phoenix ever been one to blush? "What?"
"I can't help it," he told me. "I stare at beautiful things."
"Okay, you two are making me want to vomit," Alex announced.
"Yeah, hearing about all this lovey-dovey crap is one thing but actually witnessing it is another," Paige announced.
"And you're disrupting the movie," Alex added.
"You're disrupting my life," Phoenix retorted.
"Just go away," Paige replied.
"Do you want to go to my room?" Phoenix asked and I nodded, chuckling quietly.
"Leave the door open," Alex reminded. "And I don't mean a centimeter because I know that trick."
"Whatever, mom," Phoenix retorted.
We headed up the stairs and I entered his room, sitting on the bed. He closed the door behind him and I snorted. "So much for keeping it open," I scoffed.
"Do you want it open?" he asked as he swung the door open.
"No, closed is fine," I responded. He shut the door and Alex shouted something from downstairs. "What'd she say?"
"I don't know. Just ignore her. I usually do," he shrugged before sitting opposite to me on his bed. "So tell me, when are we going to tell Leo?"
"I don't know," I admitted as I stared at my legs.
"To speed up the process, I should probably give you this tidbit of information..." he trailed. "He wants to set me up with this girl named Daphne."
"Daphne?" I asked him.
"Yeah, she goes to our school. She's on the soccer team, and apparently she's into me," he told me.
"What does she look like?" I asked him with slightly narrowed eyes. He unlocked his phone and my mouth dropped. "You have a picture of her?"
"No, well, yes but in a text message," he responded before handing me his phone. I stared at the screen and saw a screenshotted picture of the redhead staring at me. Her bright green eyes were surrounded my thick, natural lashes and neat eyebrows. Her lips were a nice size and her nose was actually straight. Dotting her cheeks were freckles and not a single blemish appeared on her face. I searched for a flaw to reassure myself that she was human but came up with nothing.
"What'd you say?" I asked him before handing his phone back, which he locked and dropped back into his lap.
"I told him that I wasn't interested," he replied. "But according to Frederick, she's going to try to talk to me at school."
"How does he know?" I asked.
"That's his cousin and he gave her the go-ahead," Phoenix responded and I frowned.
"Well, do you know her?" I inquired and he shrugged.
"I mean, I have a class with her," he responded.
"Which class?" I asked him.
"French," he answered.
"She'll probably try to talk to you after French," I told him.
"What do I do?" he inquired.
"I don't know. Just tell her you're not interested," I shrugged.
+ + +
"May I go to the bathroom?" I asked the teacher as I tapped my foot anxiously.
"You can't wait?" Ms. Young asked. "There are ten minutes left in class."
"It's an emergency," I told her.
"Fine," she sighed. "Let me write you a pass."
I grabbed my bag and my stuff, getting up and walking to her desk. Handing in my work from the day, I grabbed the pass from her along with my homework sheet and walked out of the classroom. I made my way to the bathroom. After I finished my business, I headed towards my next class, walking past the French room. Glancing at the posters advertising French tutors and the like, I narrowed my eyes. I immediately stopped, remembering the conversation I had with Phoenix about Daphne.
I took a few steps back, noticing the redhead sitting on the edge of her seat, glancing back every so often. I decided to wait for Phoenix, seeing as we have English next. I made eye contact with Daphne and I offered her a smile. She returned it and I was a bit surprised. I leaned against the locker beside the door and contemplated what I was going to do. I'm obviously not going to be a jerk because I don't want to be that girl, plus she seems nice. I mean, she smiled at me. It's not every day that you smile at a total stranger and they smile back.
The bell suddenly rang and Daphne pushed open the door, leaning against the locker opposite to me. Phoenix exited last, shoving his notebook into his bag. The redhead stepped forward just as I tugged Phoenix's arm. He looked up and smiled at me and Daphne immediately paced back, a small frown coming over her face. She stutter stepped before turning in the opposite direction. I had a feeling her class was in the direction we were heading. Phoenix looked back and saw her walking away before turning towards me. "How does it feel to be a jealous jerk?" he asked me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked him.
"I was going to let her down gently," he replied.
"Now you don't have to do that," I told him as we headed towards English. "Now, in her mind, you don't even know that she's into you. That saves her the embarrassment of she ever has to talk to you."
"Now she's probably going to go cry," he replied. "You just had to pop in, pulling and tugging on me."
"Look, I could've done a lot worse than that," I told him. "I could've starting kissing you."
"I think I would've preferred that," he smirked at me.
"She wouldn't have," I told him. "Her heart would've been broken."
"She would've been fine," he drawled with a stupid grin on his face.
"As soon as I bring up kissing, you switch your opinion around," I told him. "You were just fighting for her emotional state, now you're disregarding it completely."
"So?" he asked me.
"I can't kiss you. Technically, for the sake of us, I'm not even supposed to be talking to you," I replied.
"Yet here you are walking me to class like a gentleman," he cooed. "Can we at least hold hands?"
I glared up at him, staring at his lower lip that was puckering out. With a sigh, I grabbed his hand. "But if one of your stupid football buddies sees us and they decide to blab to Leo, you're talking to him about it."
"That's great. I'll just tell him about us," he retorted. I looked up at him and he sighed. "Look, I just want to tell him. I feel like a liar when I'm around him- like my life is just one big lie waiting to be revealed."
"I know, Phoenix," I told him.
"I just want to be able to spend time with you without having to worry about someone telling him. And I want to be able to tell the guys on the football team that you're finally my girlfriend," he admitted.
"Soon, okay?" I replied as I looked away from him. My eyes fell on one of Phoenix's football buddies and I sighed. "Maybe a bit sooner than we planned." The boy glanced down at our hands and I knew that Leo was going to find out about this.
Phoenix looked up and slowly pulled his hand from mine. "I'm going to go talk to him before he can do our job for us. I'll see you in English?"
"Yeah," I muttered as the late bell rang. "See you."
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